Need You Now
by L. Raquel
Summary: "It was true that Hopper had always been there for El when she had nightmares. But on those nights, when she woke up crying or screaming, her chest always ached for someone more. And at this point, there was no doubt that she needed him more than ever." El experiences a traumatizing nightmare while Hopper is gone. Mileven fluff.
1. Nightmare

"Are you sure you're going to be okay, Eleven? I really don't have to leave, you know that, don't you?"

"Yes. I'll be okay. You have to do work and work is important."

El stood in the kitchen with Hopper, clad in light pink pajamas and socks that didn't match. It was a night in late May, the time of year where it was not quite spring and not quite summer, either. Around 7 PM, the chief, along with his telekinetic teenaged daughter, had just finished eating some mediocre pot roast (El didn't verbally complain, but her all-too-obvious facial expressions confirmed Hopper's shaky cooking skills).

Hopper was accosted with a problematic situation that night. He had been working on a case at the station, and it needed to be finished by the next morning. He realized that he had no choice but to head up to the station and stick it out for the first good half of the night. The prospect of leaving Eleven alone past dark, however, worried him.

"What if you get scared, or have a nightmare? I don't want you wetting your bed again, and I especially don't want you to try and run away."

"Haven't had a nightmare in two months. And I would never run away. Scarier outside than inside." The reply did little to lessen Hopper's uneasiness.

"I don't know, kid, maybe I'll just have to let this case go."

"No! I will be fine. Comfortable by myself. I've been alone before."

Hopper leaned against the kitchen wall, contemplating what to do for what seemed like forever. _El's more responsible than she was a year ago, and nothing bad could happen, right? Wrong, a shit-ton of bad things could happen. But she seems really intent on me doing my job and she knows what to do in every situation and she can always call me, right?_

He brought his gaze, which was fixed on the front door, back to El.

"You have to promise me to call me if there's anything, and I mean anything, wrong. I don't care if you think you can handle it yourself, your ass is grass if you don't call me first."

El, sensing the tension, laid her tiny hand on Hopper's clenched fist.

"I will. Promise."

His expression relaxed a little. "I'll be home around 2 at the latest. And be in bed by 9, no exceptions."

"Okay."

With that affirmative, Hopper headed to his room for his boots, put at ease but still with a feeling of apprehension at the back of his mind. When he went back into the kitchen to get his keys, El was sitting on the couch in the living room, already lost in a soap opera.

"Kid, at least give me a proper goodbye."

"Oh, sorry," El mumbled as she got up from her comfy spot and gave Hopper a hug, meant to be quick because she wanted to get back to her show. However, he held on a little bit longer than usual, and El could feel his anxiety persisting.

She pulled back and looked at him straight on. "Don't worry about me. I will be okay."

"Are you absolutely sure?"

"Yes."

Slowly, Hopper opened the front door and stepped outside. He looked back at El in the doorway.

"And remember, never answer the door-"

"For anyone except you," El finished.

With that, El closed and locked the door while Hopper made his way to his truck. She watched as he drove away, the red beam from the taillights getting smaller, smaller, and eventually unseeable.

After briefly admiring the last few moments of that evening's sunset, El plopped back down in the living room and resumed watching her soap opera. When it was over, El saw that it was almost 9, so she resolved to get ready for bed. She already had her pajamas on from earlier; she liked to change into them as early as Hopper would let her. El enjoyed being comfortable and was not one for restraining or tight clothing. Not that she'd be allowed to wear anything like that, anyway. Gazing at her reflection in the mirror as she brushed her teeth, El admired the way she was beginning to look...different. Although just fourteen, she had already noticed a number of things changing. With a combination of proper nutrition and, well, puberty, her delicate features were more noticeable, her voice was less like a kid's, and her body had begun to take on a more curvaceous frame. El had no problems with this. She liked that she was often able to say, "Pretty," as she looked at herself in the mirror with full confidence.

After showering and putting back on her pajamas, El was tired and frankly wanted nothing else but to sleep. So, she sauntered to her bedroom and wasted no time getting under her blankets. Lying her head on her pillow, listening to the gentle _hum_ of the air conditioning, her body and mind began to feel heavier..heavier..heavier...and just like that she was asleep.

That night, the first thunderstorm of the year took place in Hawkins. Whether or not it triggered El's nightmare, not even she knew for sure. But what was certain was that she did not deserve this dream.

Nor does anyone.

When the dream began, the first thing she saw was the bleak, greyish stone lining the hallway she was in. Feeling the cold floor beneath her bare feet, El knew exactly where she was.

Two men dressed in white were taking her somewhere, but she didn't know where. They were walking fast, and she had to almost run for her tiny legs to keep up. As they turned the corner, she saw Papa standing at the end of the hallway. He looked angry.

 _Why is he angry? Is he angry at me?_ El thought. Her heart rate begun to pick up. Her palms were sweating.

By the time they reached the tall, white-haired man, El could now fully see his expression of pure, utter rage.

He looked down at the terrified girl with piercing, snakelike eyes. She was shaking now.

"You have not done well, Eleven. You have not proven yourself worthy to us. I have no choice but to punish you."

 _"_ Papa, why?" He took hold of her arm, nails digging into her skin. "What did I do? What did I do?" He started dragging her down another darker, narrower hallway. Panicking now, she began to scream. "PAPA! WHAT DID I DO? PLEASE, PAPA, WHY, WHY, WHY?!"

El continued screaming, eyes blurred with tears, as they continued toward a door at the end of the hallway. Though she couldn't see anything behind it, El had a vile feeling in her stomach that took her to point of nausea. Something horrible was going to happen to her.

When Dr. Brenner opened the door, the room was dimly lit. A chair sat in the center, hooked up to many machines that were unfamiliar to El. As they got closer, she noticed the leather straps attached meant to hold down someone's forearms and ankles. Her panic grew to terror when she saw another strap right where her neck would be.

"Sit." With the two men from earlier lining the doorway, El had no other option. Even with her powers, escape would be impossible. Her entire body trembling, she hoisted herself onto the chair. It was ice cold, only making her shivering worse.

As Papa began fastening the straps, she looked at her surroundings. In front of her was a large glass window, looking into another room. The walls and floor were grey, like hers, but the similarity stopped there.

The other room had brighter lights than El's. As she peered through the glass, she noticed a table, two normal chairs, a door near the back, and a machine meant to read brain waves. Her heart stopped, though, when she saw the can of Coca-Cola on the edge the table.

 _Is Papa going to make me crush the can again, except this time from where I'm sitting? Why is it in another room? Why do I have to look through the glass? Is he going to hurt me again? Why, why, why, is he angry? What will he do to me?_

Her mental stream of unanswered questions halted when she saw the door in the other room open.

Through it came two people, a man dressed in white, exactly like the ones guarding her own door, and Will Byers.

"WILL! WILL!" El screamed at the tops of her lungs. But Will couldn't hear her; the glass was soundproof. And it looked like he couldn't even see her, either. He didn't even glance in her direction. El realized, with horror, that it was one-way glass.

Dr. Brenner tightened the strap against El's neck so that she could barely breathe, let alone move her head. His gleaming, furious eyes burned into her petrified ones. "I'm going to explain this once and once only. You must not try to break free. You must watch. If you look away or close your eyes-"

He then took two metal objects, attached to one of the machines, and pressed them to El's temples. "You will be electrocuted."

El's mind immediately flashbacked to her mother, wide-eyed on a hospital bed. She saw Papa say, with not one trace of remorse, "four-fifty." Her mother's body violently convulsed and her eyes screamed silently.

Feeling the freezing metal on her skin, El felt every single muscle in her body stiffen. Her heart was beating so hard, she was convinced it would tear apart her chest. Her thoughts were no longer coherent and her entire brain was paralyzed with fear.

All he had to do was turn a knob and push a button, and El was dead. Or, worse, mentally obliterated. Just like her mother.

What the hell did she have to watch?

The question was answered when she saw Dr. Brenner go into the room with Will. He ordered him to sit in one of the chairs. Will was in a similar state as Eleven, confused and completely terrified. Sitting in the other chair, Papa fastened a device that encircled Will's head and allowed a machine to read his brain activity. It was the exact same one he used on El when he made her crush the Coke can. She realized what was about to happen when she saw him say something to Will. She couldn't hear through the soundproof glass, but from reading his lips and watching Will's eyes grow even bigger, El knew.

Papa wanted Will to crush the can, just like she had.

 _But, he can't. He doesn't have powers. Why are they making him do this?_

El watched as Dr. Brenner leaned in close to Will and said something else. Tears began to stream down the boy's face and it looked as if he had never been more frightened. Even after all his experiences with the Upside Down and the Shadow Monster.

El's shivering intensified.

Papa came back into El's room to observe Will. Gazing at her trembling limbs with a cold, emotionless expression, he reminded her. "Remember what happens if you don't watch."

Feeling tears roll down the frigid skin of her cheeks, El blinked and looked at Will.

His eyes were closed, and he was concentrating hard. He reached out his arm toward the can. _Why is he even trying? Doesn't he know he can't do it?_

Quietly, El asked Papa a question, dreading the answer.

"Papa, what happens if he doesn't crush it?"

The man turned to El and gave her an inhuman smile, one that showed in his mouth but not in his eyes. "Foolish girl. Don't you know better?"

El swallowed.

"He will be disciplined accordingly."

El didn't think her feeling of panic was able to get any worse, but somehow, it heightened.

 _Will can't move it! He can't! Oh, God, oh, God, what will they do to him?_

She watched as Will put every ounce of his effort into trying to crush the can. It devastated her, seeing him try so hard and knowing it was hopeless.

Suddenly, an eager, urgent idea came to her mind.

 _I can crush it myself!_

She almost attempted this immediately, but another thought disturbed her.

 _What if I get a nosebleed and Papa notices?_

El, realized, though, this was the only thing she could do. She _had_ to help her friend.

Channeling all her anxiety into an intense concentration, she focused on the can. She directed all of her bodily energy toward the object. Then, she cleared her mind and willed the can to crush. And...

Nothing.

The red can of cola sat on the edge of the table, undisturbed.

She tried again, harder this time.

Still nothing. It was almost mocking her now.

El took in a shaky inhale and attempted to crush the stupid, stupid can one more time.

"Eleven, what are you doing?"

She stopped and peered up at Dr. Brenner's beady eyes.

"You know, Eleven, if you try to help anyone in completing this task, I have reason to punish you."

He pressed the cold metal against the girl's temples, hard. Her breath caught in her throat and she looked utterly petrified.

Dr. Brenner paused a moment, reveling in the power he had over this helpless girl, and removed the electrodes.

"If I catch you doing that again, you know what will happen."

El had to bite her tongue in order to not cry out in sheer terror. The taste of blood filled her mouth.

She could do nothing now.

 _What is Papa going to do to Will?_

The poor Byers boy was now, seemingly, mentally exhausted. He had used up every bit of energy he had, and it was evident he would not able to do what Dr. Brenner wanted. He stared at the can, powerless.

Dr. Brenner exhaled. He turned for the door, headed for Will's room. But before he could leave, he turned around at looked at El. "There are cameras recording you from every angle. If you are seen looking away or closing your eyes, I will be notified immediately."

El saw a number of things, one on top of another, after Papa closed the door and left her room. One, she looked up and finally noticed the cameras on her. Papa wasn't lying, they could see her from every direction. Two, she saw him enter Will's room. And three,

She saw Dr. Brenner wheel in a chair identical to the one she was sitting in.

The man, so much taller than Will, began speaking to him. The boy's face was in such despair, El began to struggle to watch.

What happened next, though, turned her panic into complete hysteria.

Two men in white entered Will's room, carrying a machine, the same one Papa had used to threaten El. Almost no seconds later, they dragged Will onto the chair and secured the straps over his flailing limbs. El saw his mouth form a terrible, desperate scream.

"WILL! NO! PAPA, STOP! STOP, PAPA, PLEASE! PLEASE!"

Suddenly, El heard Will's screams join her own. _But, the glass is soundproof! Why do I hear Will?_

Then she saw it. A speaker was on the wall in front of her, projecting the sounds of the other room. El could hear Will, but he couldn't hear her. This was purposeful, for it made El's punishment worse. She did not only have to _watch_ her friend be tortured, but she had to _hear_ him, too.

Will's screams became more shrill when Dr. Brenner placed two metal electrodes on his temples. El could do nothing as vulnerable, defenseless Will prepared for excruciating pain.

"NO! NO! PLEASE!" Will shrieked. El's lips trembled as she cried out again, "PAPA, STOP!" even though no one could hear her.

"Four-thirty."

El's and Will's screams were now echoing each other as El watched a man in white turn the dial.

A feeling of extreme nausea entered her body as she wailed, "NO!" The man pressed a button and a red light came on.

The sound that came from Will was unable to be described in any way other than pure agony. His whole body shook, the chair underneath him rattled the floor. El opened her mouth in a howl, tears flooding from her eyes. Every part of her wanted so badly to look away, but she knew what would happen then. So she watched Will with complete horror as vomit came up her throat.

By the time they were finished and began wheeling Will out, El's voice was hoarse from screaming and the front half of her gown was covered in sick. She wanted all of this to be over, she wanted to leave. Why haven't they released her? Haven't they done enough?

Evidently, not enough for Dr. Brenner.

He came back into El's room. Despite her state, he began to speak to her in a calm, chilling voice. "We have another person that we were planning on using for the same experiment. Unfortunately, he attempted to escape and even had the wits to try and attack me. So, I have no other choice but to punish him immediately. Your rules still apply."

El watched with dread as Papa left again. She stared at the door in the back of the other room.

Slowly, the door opened and El saw a flash of black hair.

No.

No, no, no, no, no, no.

Not him.

Anyone but him.

El let out a piercing shriek that hurt her own ears as they echoed over the concrete walls.

Struggling against the hold of Papa and one of his assistants, was Mike Wheeler.

He was trying his hardest to break free, but the teenage boy did not have enough strength to escape the grip of two grown men. El could hear him through the speaker. Tears streamed down his face as he demanded, "Where is Eleven?! WHERE IS SHE?! TELL ME, YOU SON OF A BITCH, WHERE THE HELL IS SHE?"

Dr. Brenner didn't reply. El felt her heart shatter because Mike had absolutely no idea she was looking right at him. She could yell as loud as she wanted to, and it'd be no use.

With more difficulty this time, they got him into another chair. He fought Dr. Brenner and his assistant with full force, kicking and scratching his nails across any skin he could reach. Once he was secured, Papa wasted no time in preparing the electrodes.

"MIKE! NO!"

El could barely breathe as she watched the boy she loved so dearly be in such distress. _I can't do this._

She then heard Papa's voice, and it sent a chill up her spine. "Four-forty."

It was too much for El. Not caring about the consequences, she shut her eyes tight and turned her head as far as she could away. She wanted to cover her ears, but the straps restrained her from doing so.

She'd rather die than see this happen to Mike.

When the screaming began, El tried to make hers louder so she didn't have to hear him. The sound of Mike in agony was the worst thing El had ever heard. El wailed, eyes closed, bruised neck fighting against the strap to turn away.

It seemed like forever until it stopped. El kept her eyes shut, still yelping and in utter emotional torment. She heard the door open and Papa's footsteps got closer, closer, until he was standing at her side. As she heard his assistant enter, Papa spoke.

"You did not listen to my orders, Eleven. I have no choice."

She felt the cold metal pressed against her temples as she let out one last guttural scream.

"Four-fifty."

El woke up, screaming so loud it shook her bedroom. Books fell off their shelf and the lightbulb in her lamp exploded into a million pieces. A flash of lightning illuminated her surroundings.

Her sheets were soaked with sweat and urine. Looking at the clock on her nightstand, she saw it was 12:23 A.M.

El felt her room begin to close in around her. She couldn't breathe. Her throat felt like it was getting smaller, allowing less and less air to enter her lungs. Her chest and head throbbed in pain. She was still screaming.

The only thing that stopped her screams was when she stood up and vomited on her bedroom floor. After throwing up everything inside of her, El collapsed on the carpet and began to sob, laying in the fetal position. Barely able to think coherently, she remembered that Hopper wasn't there. She was completely alone.

She had to call him, right now.

After getting up with shaky limbs, El ran to the kitchen, still sobbing. She was barely able to dial Hopper's phone number because her hands were trembling uncontrollably. She picked up the telephone and pressed it to her ear, thinking, _please pick up._ But, to her dismay, all she heard from the phone was a dull beep.

No. It can't be. Not now.

A tree near El's house had been struck by lightning and had fallen onto a telephone wire, cutting her connection.

She sunk back into the kitchen wall, beside herself. _Why this night?_

She couldn't call Hopper or _anyone_ for that matter. She couldn't leave; going out in a thunderstorm at night would only worsen her situation. There was _nothing_ left to do.

Wait.

The thought flooded to her brain urgently. _My Super-Com._

She sprinted back to her bedroom for her only hope of communication. Walkie-talkies still worked in storms.

And sure, it was true that Hopper had always been there for El when she had nightmares. But on those nights, when she woke up crying or screaming, her chest always ached for someone more.

And at this point, there was no doubt that she needed him more than ever.

She pressed the side button and attempted to form words over her hyperventilation. "M-m-m-Mike. Mike?"

No answer.

"M-m-MIKE!"

She waited a few seconds, her vision blurring with tears.

"El, what's going on? Where are you? Are you safe? Please, God, tell me you're safe."

It was extremely difficult for El to speak, but she managed to get out, "At ho-home. S-s-safe. But n-not okay. Help please."

At the heartbreaking sound of El's voice, Mike replied instantaneously. "Stay where you are, El. I'm coming."

Mike knew it was storming, but he didn't take the thirty extra seconds for a raincoat or umbrella. He didn't even throw a jacket over his pajamas. He sprinted down his staircase, flew through the front door, and took off on his bike.

100 feet in, he was already drenched. But he didn't care. _El needed him._

He was pedaling so fast that he briefly thought he may crash, but that didn't keep him from trying to go even faster. He started to panic, thinking of El's shaky words on the super-com. He knew from the sound of her voice that it was a nightmare, but it sounded like it had completely traumatized her. And, where was Hopper?

Meanwhile, El sat again on her bedroom floor, hugging her knees to her chest. _Please, Mike. Just get here._ She was so overwhelmed with grief that she was sure she couldn't hold on for any longer.

Mike threw his bike into the muddy yard outside El's house, not caring what would happen to it. He went to open the front door, but it was locked. Frantically, he pounded his fist against the rain-soaked wood. "El, it's Mike!"

When El opened the door, Mike didn't ask any questions. He didn't even say anything. He just took the two steps it took to reach her and wrapped his arms around her, enveloping El in a hold that almost immediately began to shake violently with her sobs. Partly because his intuition told him that the only thing El needed was for him to hold her, and partly because he couldn't bear to see her beautiful face stained with tears.

Trying to calm her down, he began tracing patterns on her back with his fingers, using his other hand to stroke her hair. It helped only a little; El was still making horrible noises that sounded like she had captured all the pain and suffering in the world. She sunk her head into Mike's chest, trembling.

To say that it upset Mike, seeing El in this much pain, was an understatement. It broke him. It hurt every bone in his body. It made him want to do vile, unspeakable things to anyone who had inflicted suffering on her. It made him miserable, but it also made him angry. Out of any human on the planet, El didn't deserve her past. She was the sweetest, warmest, most loving person Mike had ever known. Why was she rewarded with horrible nightmares and flashbacks? _It's not fair,_ he thought to himself. _She of all people should not have to go through this._

After a long while, El's sobs gradually resided into sniffles. Squeezing her gently, Mike kissed the top of her head. "Nightmare, right?"

Looking up at him, El noticed the tears quietly running down Mike's cheeks. The sight made her heart ache. Swallowing a lump in her throat, she nodded.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Later. Please...hold me."

So he did. Mike encircled her shivering body with his arms, tighter this time, and pressed his face into her shoulder. Rubbing her back in small circles, he did everything in his power to comfort this girl who he loved more than life itself. He would hold her for a hundred years if that's what it took.

El buried her face into Mike's t-shirt and took in his scent. The familiar aroma of honey, Tide detergent, and a hint of cinnamon finally began to calm her.

The two stayed like that, wrapped in each other's arms, for a long time. When El was ready, she took Mike's hand and led him to the living room. They sat down together on the couch and Mike took El's hands in his. "Look, if you aren't ready to talk about this, you don't have to. I don't want you to if it's going to make things worse."

Hearing him speak so gently, El felt a surge of affection for Mike. He had dropped everything, biked to her house in the pouring rain, and was there for her at 1:00 in the morning without any hesitation. And now, he didn't care if he knew the reason she was in pain.

"No, I want to." As difficult as it was, El found that talking about her nightmares helped distance herself from them, a way of confirming they weren't real.

After a few moments, El spoke again. "It...it was the worst one."

Mike rubbed his thumb over El's palm, a small but oh-so-comforting gesture. "Ever?"

"Yes, ever."

Their eyes met for a few seconds, and Mike's expression told El: _you don't have to do this._

But she had to. She had to make peace with it, and the only way to do so was to get it out there.

"Papa...he put me in this chair, strapped me down...and...he made...he made me..."

El took a moment to steady her breathing. Mike squeezed her hand.

"He made me watch Will...get...get tortured. And if I looked away he told me he'd do the same thing to me."

Mike felt his heart break. Trying to stay strong for El, he swallowed the lump forming in his throat.

"And...and t-then..he made me w-w-watch...y-you."

Fighting back tears, Mike put his arm around El and pulled her closer, wanting so badly to shelter her from every bad thing in the world.

"B-but Mike. I couldn't. I couldn't watch. So he came to me and he was about to shock me and...I woke up."

El couldn't stop the flow of tears that had been threatening to spill over her cheeks. She broke down. Collapsing onto Mike's chest again, she briefly wondered if it were possible for a human to run out of tears.

Gently rocking her back and forth, Mike spoke softly in her ear. "It's okay, El. I'm here. You're safe now. I will never, _ever_ let anyone or anything hurt you. I promise."

When Mike said that, El felt so much undeniable, deep love for him that she felt all of her grief fade away, at least for the moment. She couldn't stop herself from pulling back and pressing her lips to his in a long, anguished, passionate kiss. There was absolutely no _way_ she would be able to live without him.

When they pulled away, Mike and El stared into each other's eyes. They were only fourteen going-on-fifteen, but their relationship was no ordinary teenage puppy-love. They had a timeless, deep connection that rendered the two completely enamored with one another. If either tried to explain it to an adult, they would laugh and shrug it off, saying that the kids "didn't know any better". But Mike and El knew that, put simply, no one else truly _understood_ how it felt to love someone so much it hurts, so much that you'd be willing to die for them without any hesitation.

Mike brought El into a hug and kissed her on the forehead, making her feel warm and so, so safe. He was her home and she was his.

"I love you so much, El."

"I love you, too, Mike."

* * *

And, done! Please let me know what you think, I'm new to this and would really appreciate some feedback. Also, should I continue the story and tell how Hopper gets back and the aftermath? Let me know. Thanks for reading!


	2. Update

Hi everyone! Thank you to anyone who posts reviews, it means so much. I was wondering if you guys think I should continue the story. Should I write more, maybe write one of Mike's nightmares? Thanks again, everyone!


	3. Aftermath

As he drove home, Hopper listened to his tires roll across the damp earth. " _Hell of a storm we had,_ " he thought. He glanced at his watch, and it read 3:10 A.M.

For some reason, something had felt off to him that night. He had been constantly worrying about El. He knew she wasn't the biggest fan of thunderstorms, but she could handle it, right? She was older now. Still, Hopper felt uneasy the whole way home.

It felt like forever until the chief finally reached his driveway. He parked his truck and walked quietly toward the front steps. It was so dark that he completely missed Mike's bike lying in the mud next to the sidewalk.

Hopper fumbled for his keys to open the front door but found that it was already unlocked. " _That's strange…_ "

The nervous feeling ensued. What if someone had broken in? What if a government agent came to take El? "Shit, shit, shit," Hopper mumbled to himself as he opened the door. " _I shouldn't have left in the night,_ " he thought, panicking.

He walked in and turned the light on.

And, to his utmost relief, there she was.

His relief only lasted momentarily, though, when he saw who El was sleeping next to on the living room couch. Or, rather, she was practically entangled in him.

" _Mike Wheeler, that goddamn son of a bitch..._ "

Both of his arms were wrapped protectively around El. El was clutching one of his hands to her chest. Her head rested back into the crook of his neck. As they slept, their chests rose and fell in sync.

To anyone else, the sight might have been romantic, even heartwarming. But Hopper was not exactly overjoyed to see his fourteen-year-old daughter sleeping next to a boy.

" _What in the hell is he doing here at 3 o'clock in the morning?!_ " he thought furiously. He was about to voice the question out loud when Mike woke up.

The light must have woken him, as Mike had never been a deep sleeper. His entire body felt warm, and he remembered the beautiful girl next to him. Blissfully, he was about to drift back off when he saw who was standing about ten feet away.

 _Shit._

Hopper's piercing gaze stared right back at him.

Mike's mind went blank with fear. He instantly realized that he and El had accidentally fallen asleep on the couch. After talking for an hour or so, they spent the rest of their time cuddling, just enjoying one another's presence. But the couch was so soft and El's hair smelled so sweet, like lavender, and before you knew it…

Mike knew he was in deep shit. Would Hopper really believe him if he told them they were just talking? There was no way. Mike was a fourteen, almost fifteen-year-old boy. Hopper knew better than that.

Suddenly, Mike was hyper-aware of his arms, which were both enveloped around El. Hopper's eyes darted to them. Before Hopper could burst out screaming, which Mike felt coming on, he quickly put a finger to his lips and pleaded Hopper with his eyes. _"Please, stay quiet. Don't wake El."_

Miraculously, Hopper kept himself from immediately yelling at Mike. He signaled him into a different room. Mike gently disentangled himself from El. Looking at her, Mike got a sudden urge to kiss her on the cheek. Feeling Hopper's eyes on him, though, he refrained. Quietly, Mike got up and followed the chief into his bedroom. Once Hopper closed the door behind them, he erupted into the angriest, scariest sounding whisper Mike had ever heard.

"What the hell, Mike? What the _hell_?!"

Mike was practically shaking. The chief was intimidating already, but when he was mad, it was terrifying.

"What makes you think you can just sneak around in the middle of the night and come here whenever you want? Curfews exist for a reason, kid. Was that your little plan all along? Wait until I was gone in the night so you could come and, and.."

"Okay, please, let me explain. Please." Mike was practically begging.

"I'll give you one chance. This better be good."

Mike exhaled. "So, what happened was, you know the storm that started around, I don't know, 11 P.M. tonight? A lightning bolt hit a tree, and it fell onto a telephone wire. El couldn't call you, there was no connection."

"I don't believe you."

"You can go check for yourself."

Hopper went to the telephone. He picked it up. A dull beep sounded. No connection. _God, damn it._ His feeling of guilt grew for leaving Eleven alone at night.

Hopper went back into the room with Mike and closed the door. "Continue."

"Well, El had a nightmare around midnight, a really bad one, and she couldn't call you, like I said. She needed someone, so she got to me through her Super-Com. She sounded really scared, and I was really worried about her, so I came over."

"How did you even get here?"

"On my bike."

"Kid, you're telling me you rode all the way here on your bike, in your pajamas, in the pouring rain?"

"Um, yeah. I did."

" _Shit,_ " Hopper thought. " _He does really care about her, doesn't he._ "

The thought did not stop his suspicion, though.

"So, tell me why I found you two all wrapped up in each other on the couch."

Mike's cheeks reddened. "Well, uh, we were talking. Honest, that's all we were doing. And I was trying to comfort her cause she was really scared, you know? And, uh...I guess we just fell asleep."

"You just fell asleep."

"Yeah."

Hopper contemplated the story for a moment. Mike could be lying, but he didn't seem like he was. And Mike's always been a good kid.

"Alright, look. I believe you. And you're getting off on this one. But if I come home and find you two like that again, without an explanation like the one you just gave me, I will kick your ass out the door. Both of you are too young for that kind of shit. You got me?"

Intimidated, Mike nodded several times. "Yes, chief, uh, I mean, Hopper."

Hopper sighed. "You need to get home, kid. Your parents will be worried sick if they find you gone in the morning."

Wanting to oblige, Mike started for the hallway. But then he thought of El. Would she be okay?

Hopper sensed his worry. "Look, I'll be here for the rest of the night. You can call her in the morning. Get home safe, kid."

"Okay. Thanks, Hopper."

As Hopper began getting ready for bed, Mike walked back to the living room. He glanced over at El, still sleeping soundly on the couch.

The sight of her made his heart melt. Her soft eyelashes rested on her cheeks, her lips were slightly spread apart, and her breaths came in dreamy sighs.

" _How can someone look that freaking innocent and beautiful and peaceful?_ " he thought to himself. That angry feeling from earlier came back when he thought, " _How could anyone even think of trying to harm her?_ ". He repressed the anger, though, for it did him no good.

Without thinking, Mike walked over and knelt beside El. He studied her face for a moment, taking in all the shapes and lines that he loved so much. Leaning down, he gave her the kiss on the cheek that he had wanted so badly to give her 20 minutes ago.

The corners of El's lips turned up in a sleepy, devastatingly cute smile.

It took all of Mike's willpower to not wrap her up in an embrace, right then and there, and kiss her 1000 times over.

He resisted the urge, knowing El needed sleep and he needed to go home. After putting on his shoes, he glanced back at El one last time. Although it was stupid because she couldn't see or hear him, he mouthed the words _I love you_ before going out the door.

On his way home, Mike thought, " _I really hope she stays asleep until the morning. And I hope she never has a nightmare like that again."_

Thankfully, after a peaceful, dreamless sleep, El awoke at 9 o'clock A.M., the sunlight bursting through the living room windows.

Suddenly, she remembered all of the events from the night before. Her nightmare, the telephone, Mike.

Mike.

 _Where's Mike?_

Panic flooded her conscience. She got up and ran into the kitchen. Hopper was cooking breakfast.

Seeing the look on her face, Hopper knew exactly what was going on. "Relax, El, I sent him home."

Remembering that they fell asleep together, and Hopper probably walked in on them like that, El felt a blush creeping up her cheeks.

"Um, am I...am I in trouble?"

"No, kid. You're not. Mike explained everything. I'm so sorry, kid. I shouldn't have left you alone. I won't risk that again. Thank God Mike was there."

El was about to reply, but the phone rang.

"Speak of the devil," Hopper said, "I'm guessing that's him right now."

El picked up. "Hello?"

"Hey, El, how are you doing? Are you...are you okay?"

It still amazed El that the sound of Mike's voice alone could completely obliterate any anxiety she was having at the time.

"Yes. I'm okay."

"Good, I'm glad. Well, um, I thought maybe if you aren't busy today we could go to the park, just us two? Maybe have a picnic?"

El felt her heart flood with affection for him. He wanted to take her mind off what had happened the night before, and he knew just how to do it.

"I would love to."

"Okay, awesome, I'll be at your house around noon, sound good?"

"Yes."

"See you then."

There was a pause. El looked over at Hopper on the other side of the kitchen. He was reading the morning paper, clearly not paying attention to her conversation with Mike.

She couldn't contain it. "I love you," she blurted out a little unceremoniously.

But Mike felt his chest fill with that familiar warm sensation nonetheless. "And I love you." El could hear his smile through the phone.

"See you at noon," El said, grinning.

"Yeah, at noon. Bye, El."

"Bye, Mike."


	4. Picnic: Part 1

El stood in front of the bathroom mirror, still in her pajamas. As she brushed her teeth, she felt more and more anxious to see Mike again. She already longed for him and the comforting feeling he gave her. When she was with Mike, El could just _breathe._ She knew he would always listen to her, explain anything that confused her, or say nothing and just hold her if she needed him to. " _Dependable,"_ El thought of a word she had seen in the dictionary a few days earlier. " _Mike is dependable. That means he's trustworthy, loyal."_ But Mike was more than that to El. It was a kind of unwavering trust that bound the two together, an eternal promise to always protect one another.

After brushing through her now chin-length hair (it had grown surprisingly fast over the past year), El went to her bedroom to get dressed. Since the weather was nice that day, El decided to wear something she wouldn't normally wear. She chose a cute sundress that Nancy had bought for her. Nancy called it "vintage", she remembered. It was a pastel lilac color and flared out at the waist into a flattering silhouette. El was about to find shoes when she realized something. _I haven't asked Hopper if I can go yet!_

Trying to appear casual, she sauntered into the kitchen where the chief sat, somehow still reading the newspaper.

"Hey, dad. Um, I have a question."

Eleven had started calling Hopper "dad" after he adopted her. It was much more fitting.

"And I probably have an answer."

Eleven swallowed. She decided to not wait any longer.

"CanIPleaseGoOnAPicnicWithMikePleaseHeInvitedMeAndI'dReallyLikeToSeeHimAndIPromiseIWon'tBeGoneLongPlease?"

"Woah, woah, woah, Jesus, kid. Take a breath, you look like you're about to pass out. And yes, you can go, but _please_ be home by 3."

Eleven sighed, both out of relief and necessity for oxygen. "Thank you. I will."

Glancing at the clock, El saw it was ten minutes until noon. Quicker than when she came, El turned to go back to her bedroom.

"Eleven?"

El whipped around, a sudden terrible feeling in her gut. _Oh, no. He's gonna change his mind. He's gonna say I can't go._

"You look nice, sweetie. Where'd you get that dress?"

"Oh! Oh. Nancy got it for me." _Thank God._

"The color suits you. It brings out your eyes."

"Thank you." El smiled softly.

When El got back to her bedroom, she put on a little bit of pale pink lip gloss, which Nancy had also bought for her at the drugstore. That was the only makeup she wore, and Nancy told her she didn't need to wear more, anyway. "You're one of the lucky ones," Nancy said to her once. "You have natural beauty. Your features are amazing, El."

"You too," El said. "Naturally pretty."

"You're sweet. I'd like to think so, but sometimes my complexion says otherwise. My breakouts are horrible!"

"I never notice."

"Awh, the world needs more people like you, El."

Nancy hugged her then, making El feel very happy, but more importantly, _appreciated._

The Wheelers, in general, were good at making her feel appreciated.

El was about to leave her bedroom when she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror on her bedroom door. Hopper was right, the lilac brought out all of the golden flecks in her brown eyes. She admired her reflection for a moment, getting butterflies thinking about how Mike was going to see her like this. " _Maybe he'll tell me I look pretty,"_ she thought hopefully.

As she studied her reflection a little longer, her mind started to drift back into what had happened last night. The nightmare. There was no doubt that it was still lurking in the back of El's mind. Her brain started recounting the nightmare. Suddenly, the memories came back in full force, and El felt the pain, the panic, the agony of seeing the people she loved suffer. An image of Mike's face, tear-streaked and distorted by pain, appeared in El's mind. Then Will. Then herself, but it was just her reflection. She was on the verge of a panic attack when a knock sounded on the front door.

With the thought of Mike alive and just steps away grounding her, El's flashback ended.

Still shaken, though, she tried to put on a calm face as she walked toward the front door.

When she opened the door, Mike smiled. "Hey, El!" His smile quickly turned into concern, though, when he saw El's expression. Tried as she might have to appear calm and collected, Mike was no dummy. He has a knack for knowing when something was off with her right away.

El was relieved to see him, though. "Hi, Mike."

"El, are you oka–"

"Hey, kids." Mike was interrupted by Hopper when he came into the doorway. "It's a sunny day, so hopefully you two can find some shade to get under." He directed his next statement to Mike. "Don't go too far. Eleven already knows, but I need her home by 3."

"Yes, sir."

"Alright. Be careful, you two. And no funny business, you hear me?"

"Loud and clear."

"Bye, El. Be safe." Hopper gave her a quick hug.

As soon as the door shut behind them, Mike looked at El. "Are you okay? You seem a little uneasy. What happened last night sucks, and you don't deserve that. I'm worried about you, El, and I wish–"

El interrupted Mike by wrapping her arms around his waist and hugging him tightly.

"Missed you."

Gratefully, Mike hugged her back. "I missed you too," he admitted, kissing her softly on the top of her head.

It had been _less than twelve hours_ , but the two already felt an intense longing to be with one another again. It drove them both nuts.

Mike knew that El was still shaken up by the nightmare, but he decided to talk to her about it once they got to the picnic, where she could relax.

Before he got on his bike, Mike took a step back to get a good luck at El. He found himself momentarily unable to form words. She looked _ethereal._ Her hair was down and her natural curls looked especially soft and springy. Her eyes practically sparkled in the sunlight. But most of all, that _dress._ If she wasn't already stunning enough, the way the pastel fabric rested atop her creamy skin escalated all of her best features. Mike honestly thought El was about as close as someone could get to perfection.

"Wow, El, you look…" He brought his eyes to hers. "...so beautiful."

For the first time since Mike had seen her that day, El smiled.

Feeling a little better now that she was with Mike, El hopped onto the back of his bike. The basket attached to the front had a blanket and small picnic basket inside.

Shortly after Mike started pedaling, El wrapped her arms around his waist and rested her cheek on his back, giving him an intense fluttery feeling in his stomach. It's not like she didn't do that almost every time she rode on his bike, but nevertheless, Mike never failed to get butterflies being so close to her. There was something about feeling her small hands on his ribcage, her breath on his t-shirt, that made him feel nervous, but in a good way.

As they rode, El watched as they flew past the trees surrounding Hopper's cabin, the suburban homes in Hawkins, more trees, and finally Mike began to slow down as they approached Lover's Lake, the famous heart-shaped lake that couples often visited.

Mike couldn't have picked a better day for this, El thought. The sun was shining but it wasn't too hot, the birds were chirping, and a slight breeze rustled the grass every once in a while.

Mike grabbed the blanket out of his bike's basket, found a flat spot, and spread it out onto the grass. He motioned for El to come sit. Happy to oblige, she plopped down onto the blanket. She studied the pattern, running her fingers over the red and white squares. It was softer than she expected. Her attention diverted back to the boy in front of her when he opened the picnic basket and began taking things out. He presented two bottles of Sprite, El's favorite.

She took one and smiled. "You know me too well."

"You know, I was gonna bring Eggos too, but then I realized they'd get cold and soggy sitting in the basket. But hopefully, this can make up for it." He reached inside the picnic basket and pulled out two Ziploc sandwich baggies.

"Is that peanut butter and jelly?" El's eyes shined hopefully.

"You know it."

An excited squeak escaped El's lips as she leaned over to kiss Mike on the cheek.

"Thank you. I didn't think you'd remember how much I liked them."

Mike could never forget the first time El tried a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. She was over at his house with the party, and Karen had offered to make them lunch before they went home. They all agreed, and she called them up from the basement ten minutes later. El recognized the sandwich on her plate. She had heard of P.B.& J before but had no idea what it tasted like. Mike noticed her hesitation. "Try it, El, you'll love it."

"Yeah, for real, these things are the bomb diggity," Dustin exclaimed with a mouth full of sandwich. He had peanut butter on his chin.

"Oh God, Dustin, at least chew with your mouth closed. Jesus," Lucas said, clearly grossed out.

"I'm pretty sure people who are forever internally four years old will never learn to have proper etiquette," Max retorted.

Tentatively, El took a small bite out of her sandwich. Her taste buds were overwhelmed by the combination of salty peanut butter and sweet strawberry jam. She loved it. In fact, she decided right then and there that P.B.& J's were her favorite food, next to Eggos of course.

She ate the rest of her sandwich extremely quickly, finishing before the rest of the party. "How'd you like it, Eleven?" Karen asked.

"Delicious. Thank you."

"You're welcome, sweetheart. I'm glad you enjoyed it."

After Karen walked out of the kitchen, the party finally noticed El's empty plate.

"Holy shit, did you inhale that thing?" Max asked.

"No, I just liked it. A lot."

"We can tell," Lucas said. "Especially because there's-"

"El, look at me real quick. You have a bit of jelly on your face," Mike said.

"Oh." Embarrassed, El turned to face Mike.

"It's not that much. I'll get it for you."

Mike brought his thumb to the corner of El's mouth, wiping away the jelly way slower than necessary. Although it was small, the touch sent electricity down El's spine. She felt her heart rate pick up as Mike's eyes met hers. His eyes were so pretty, dark and kind and endless. For a moment, the two stared at one another and felt an invisible force pulling them closer...closer...closer…

"Okay, if you two kiss right now, I'm going to barf this sandwich all over your mom's nice white tablecloth," Lucas said, bringing Mike and El out of their daze.

A blush already making its way onto his cheeks, Mike looked at his feet. "Fuck off, Lucas."

"I'm just saying, you guys always get so googly-eyed at each other. You act like we're not even here!"

If Mike (and El, for that matter) were to tell the truth, they _forget_ that other people are around. Whenever they hold eye contact for more than a few seconds, other people in the room seem to disappear into the background, and they feel almost hypnotized by one another. Everything else becomes... insignificant. Neither of them can explain it.

The same phenomenon began to happen when El, who was about to dig into the sandwich Mike had packed for her, noticed an eyelash on Mike's cheek.

"Mike, you have an eyelash on your face."

"Oh, yeah, that happens sometimes. Where is it?"

"It's okay, I'll get it," El would use absolutely any excuse to get closer to Mike.

Gently, she used the tip of her index finger to wipe away the fallen eyelash. Unavoidably, their eyes met.

 _Oh, God._ Mike's heart was nearly beating out of his chest. _El's hands are so soft. And she's so cute when she's focusing on something, even trying to get a stupid eyelash off my cheek. AGH, DAMN IT, SHE'S FUCKING ADORABLE. AND GORGEOUS TO BOOT. WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE–_

Mike's thoughts were interrupted by El's lips.

He brought his hands to the sides of her face, reveling in the sweet scent of her hair and the feeling of her forehead pressed against his. " _If there's any earthly experience that's close to being in heaven, I think it's this…"_ Mike thought.

When they finally broke the kiss, Mike and El collapsed back onto the picnic blanket, breathless and red-faced.

"That was good," El said.

"Yeah, that was...nice," Mike replied lamely. _Seriously, Wheeler? Nice?! You just kissed the most beautiful girl in Hawkins and all you could come up with is NICE?!_

"I'm hungry, Mike. Let's eat."

"Agreed."

* * *

And Chapter 3 is done! I was originally going to write the entire picnic scene for this chapter, but the PB&J idea came to me out of the blue and I didn't want to drag this chapter on. Stay tuned for more, where El will talk to Mike more about her nightmares and he may reveal some of his own (shoutout to disneyprincess315 for the inspiration). Happy reading! Make sure to leave a review if you enjoy this story, they honestly make my day!


	5. Picnic: Part 2

As Mike and El ate, they admired the beautiful scenery that surrounded them. The sun's reflection created a strip of brilliant white light on the lake, almost blinding. Early summer wildflowers bloomed around them, and every once in a while, a squirrel scurried past their blanket.

Despite the gorgeous day, it was difficult for Mike to keep his eyes off of El. Her beauty, of course, was the main distraction, but something else was making it hard to look away.

She was eating her PB&J _so fast_.

In fact, Mike was momentarily afraid she would choke.

As soon as El noticed Mike's gaze of both amusement and concern, she realized what she was doing. She was hungrier than she realized, and was (in Max's terms) practically inhaling her food. Slowly, she lowered her sandwich. Peanut butter peeked out from the corners of her mouth.

Put simply, she looked like an idiot. To Mike, a heartbreakingly cute idiot. But an idiot nonetheless.

Mike and El looked at each other, and they both slowly smiled. The smiles quickly turned into grins, and the two busted out laughing. For the second time (but for a different reason), they collapsed onto their backs, rolling and roaring with laughter. Both dizzy with giggles and love, it took awhile for them to return to their normal composure.

When they finally did, though, Mike remembered why he took El here in the first place. To keep her mind off of what had happened last night. It was seemingly working so far, but the memory of El's shaken expression when she answered the door earlier was still gnawing at him.

Gently, he asked, "El, were you okay earlier? When I first saw you?"

She lowered her eyes to the ground for a moment and bit her lip, contemplating what to say. Tracing the checkered pattern on the blanket with her finger, her mind recounted the near panic-attack she had a few hours earlier.

"Um... I guess I wasn't. But after I saw you, I calmed down."

"What happened?"

"I...I had a flashback." Even thinking about it gave El anxiety. She couldn't bring herself to look at Mike in the eyes.

Mike recognized the quiet tension in her right away. He reached out his arm to gently caress one of her shoulders.

The tenderness of his touch nearly made El melt right there onto the picnic blanket.

"Do you want to talk about it? What the flashback was about?"

El finally looked up at him. "It was about the nightmare."

Mike figured that would be her answer. A flash of that anger came back again. Poor, poor, undeserving El. Because of horrible, evil people like Dr. Brenner, El could never truly live in peace.

"Mike?"

"Yes?"

"I think...I think I should tell you how the entire nightmare was, start to finish. It feels like I have it locked up inside my head and I just...I need to get it out."

"Okay. If it ever gets to be too much, though, you can stop. You can take a break from talking about it. I'll be here."

"I know."

El took hold of one of Mike's hands. She took a deep breath and began.

"When it started, I was in the lab. The bad men were taking me somewhere but I didn't know where. I was taken to Papa, and he was angry at me. The scariest thing was that I didn't know why. He strapped me to a chair and told me I couldn't look away or…or I would be punished."

"What kind of punishment, El?"

El made a gun shape with her fingers and pointed it to her head, giving Mike deja-vu of when they first met. An image of El in Mike's basement, clad in one of his sweatshirts, scared and helpless, appeared in his mind. He shivered, despite the warm weather, and squeezed her hand tighter.

"First, I had to watch Will. They brought him in and told him he had to use his mind to crush a can. He doesn't have powers like I do, so I knew he couldn't. So, I tried to help him and use my powers. But, it wouldn't work. I couldn't crush the can. Then Papa...he noticed me trying to help Will. He put electrodes to my head and told me he would punish me if I did it again. And when the bad men saw that Will couldn't do it...they...they…"

A tear ran down El's cheek.

"They electrocuted him. They tortured Will. I could hear him. I could hear him screaming, and crying..."

Mike could see El's distress. He placed a hand on her back. "Hey, seriously, you don't have to tell me the rest if it's too much for you."

"No, no, I have to. I need to get it out."

"Okay," Mike said, trying to keep himself together as he watched the girl he loved fall apart a little.

"After Will, they brought you in. You kept screaming at Papa and asking where I was. I yelled, but you couldn't hear me. I was looking through soundproof one-way glass. Because you were fighting, Papa punished you right away. I heard you scream, and...and…"

El was crying now. Mike felt a lump forming in his throat.

"I couldn't do it. I had to look away. I covered my ears. I couldn't stand it, Mike, I couldn't stand it…"

Soon enough, Mike's arms were around El and she muffled her sobs into his shirt. He squeezed her tight, reminding her that he was still here, everything was okay, he was still here….

El pulled back, her face wet with tears. "Papa punished me. And I knew...I knew..I was gonna end up just like my mom. Then I woke up."

She exhaled shakily, noticing the tears rolling down Mike's cheeks. It hurt him to see her in pain. The flow of her own tears increased because it hurt her to see him upset, too. It was a really bad spiral to go down. El's upset, so Mike's upset, then El gets more upset seeing Mike upset, then Mike gets more upset…..Both a blessing and a curse, their empathy for each other was almost unearthly.

"El," Mike whispered. "All I can say is you don't deserve any of that. You don't deserve any of the horrible things that have happened to you. But, they're gone now. The nightmare...it wasn't real. The bad men might still be out there, but I swear on my life, they'll never come within a mile of you. Not with me around. I will never, ever, let them take you again. You're going to have such a good life, El. Away from all of the bad memories. Whether that life is with me or not, I don't know. What I do know is that you're going to laugh and eat so many Eggos and PB&J's and do all the things that make you happy. Forever."

El, sniffling, looked up at him. "Promise?"

He kissed her forehead, so sweetly. "Promise."

"I love you, Mike."

"I love you too, El."

* * *

Mike and El had been lying on the picnic blanket together for a while. In silence, they watched the clouds, imagining different shapes within the fluffy orbs. Mike's voice finally broke the still air.

"You know, I have nightmares, too, sometimes."

El sat up. "You do?"

"Yeah. Not so much anymore, but I had them almost every night when...when you were gone."

"Do...do you want to talk about them?"

"I've never told anyone. But, I think I'd feel better if I did."

The two were quiet for a moment. Then Mike spoke.

"All of them were the same. The same thing happened every time. I was in Hawkins Lab, with you. I never knew why or how we got there, but we were running away from Dr. Brenner."

"Papa?"

"Yeah, we were running from that son of a bitch. Somehow, he caught up to us. He grabbed you. I tried to fight and run after him, but two men were holding me back. Brenner took you down this hallway, and the men followed him. We were about 20 feet apart, and you kept looking back at me and I looked at you. Your powers...they weren't working. Finally, we reached the spot where the gate to the Upside Down was. The men holding me stopped, but Brenner took you toward the gate. And he...he forced you in. He pushed you into the Upside Down. You were gone. That was when I always woke up."

He bit his lip, trying not to cry for the gazillionth time in the last 24 hours.

"Mike...I'm sorry."

El was the one comforting him this time. She hugged him tightly, squeezing her arms around his abdomen.

"I wouldn't ever leave you, Mike. I won't."

Despite being unsettled about his nightmares, a steady warmth made its way into Mike's chest.

"I won't ever leave you, either," Mike said.

"Even if I steal all of your Eggos?"

Mike laughed and kissed the top of her head. "Nope."

"Even if I suck at playing Dungeons and Dragons?"

"Nuh-uh."

"Even if...I like your mom's peanut butter and jelly sandwiches more than you?" This time, El cocked her head in the most devastating, earth-shattering, adorable way.

"Woah, woah, woah. You didn't have to go there. That hurt."

"Just kidding." El smiled and fluttered her eyelashes. "Maybe."

"You're killing me, you know that?"

El gave him a peck on the cheek. "I know." She had this boy wrapped around her finger.

A blush crept its way onto Mike's face where El's lips had been.

"El, do you wanna go walk around? We've been sitting here this whole time."

"Yes."

The two got up and began walking the path that encircled Lover's Lake. They held hands, both thinking about how well their hands fit together.

Suddenly, Mike stopped walking. He went off the path.

"Mike? What are you–"

"It'll just be a second."

He was bending down in the grass. _"What is he doing?,"_ El thought.

"El, I need you to close your eyes."

"...Why?"

"Just trust me."

"Okay." El shut her eyes, wondering with anticipation of what Mike was planning.

After a short time, she heard his footsteps coming toward her until he was standing right in front of her.

"Okay, you can open your eyes now."

El's eyelids fluttered open. Standing in front of her was Mike, holding a huge, beautiful bunch of purple, yellow, and white wildflowers.

"For you," he said, holding out the bunch to her.

El was speechless. She carefully took the flowers and admired them in her hands. "Pretty" and "Thank you" was all she could manage.

"You know, whenever I see wildflowers, I think of you."

"Why?"

"Well, no one plants them, they just kind of come out of nowhere. But everyone loves them anyway, and they end up looking really beautiful. They're like you. When we found you, you were standing in the woods in the pouring rain. You appeared out of nowhere. No one expected you to show up. But I'm so glad you did, El. You've been so amazing and caring and I...I don't know what I'd do without you."

El was so awestruck by Mike's kind words, she didn't know what to say. She settled on kissing him instead.

Blissfully, she wrapped her arms around his neck, one hand still holding the flowers. _"Mike tastes like kindness and strawberries,"_ El thought.

 _"El tastes like peanut butter, but I don't really care. God, I love her so much,"_ Mike thought.

As the two lost themselves in one another, nothing in the world could hurt them. As long as they were together, everything would be okay.


End file.
